I took these pictures Saturday night from my back balcony in Puok.  My host mother came beating on my bedroom door to tell me to run outside and look.

Soon, host cousins, aunts, and uncles were flocking to our house—everyone gazing at the eclipsed moon.  My host mother and others bowed to the fruit trees in the backyard, and lit incense on all our Buddha statues in the living room.

I knew the moon played an important role in Khmer belief systems, but it was interesting to see the excitement firsthand.  Everyone was giggly and smiling, so happy to see this rare event.

If you were on the West Coast of the United States you could also see it very early Saturday morning when the earth came between the sun and the moon.  Other than that, only people on Cambodia’s side of the world saw it because it was night time here.

As the eclipse started, the moon was bright and breathtaking.  This was the first picture I took from my balcony Saturday night.